the goose loves camping

Two weekends ago (I know, I'm a little behind), Billy, Bentley, and I went camping with my sister Monika, her bf Moghan, and his dog Cru. We met them halfway between Portland and Seattle (where they live) at Margaret McKenny Campground, a little southwest of Olympia, WA.

I was very excited to document the trip in photos - snapping shots of the dog's first camping adventure, the campfire, playing in the creek, and eating gobs of food. But naturally, my camera battery was dead, and we realized this once we reached the site. And, like most campsites, it had no electricity, which means no phone or camera charging. So unfortunately, the only photos I have of the weekend were from about 20 minutes before we left, once my phone had charged in the car for awhile. Oh well, lesson learned.

However, charging my camera was SO worth it, for this photo:
LOVE it! And here's a few more of Bentley, perched on his rock: We brought a 20' lead (wire cable) with us to attach Bentley to a tree, which keeps him from running off but lets him explore and have some freedom. This rock was next to his tree, and since he loves to perch on things (like a cat), it was perfect for him. He'd sit up there for awhile, watching campers and bugs go by. He also took a nap on his rock on Saturday afternoon, when the rock was nice and warm from the sun. But sadly, no photo of that. And Monika and Moghan! Typical Monika, on her phone...

The Look of Love.

Look at the cute couple. Sorry about the glare, guys.

And our little family! In the shade of the tree.

And in the sun! See, it's really us! Our empty campsite as we leave. So sad looking.

And the history of Margaret McKenny, the namesake of this campsite. Full description with hyphens put in funny places.

On the way back to the freeway, we stopped at the local landmark called Mima Mounds. It's a site with lots of natural mini hills. We left the pups in the cars, to obey the rules, and set out for the mounds, a few steps away. Once there, we found a little frog sitting on the Mima Mounds Description board. The board featured the history and plausible causes of all these little hills, and included some scenery drawn in. I wished we saw this little guy in real life. So cute. And the mounds in all their glory.

Billy loved the mounds. And yes, he made a boob joke. His Villa alums would not approve of anything less.

Yeah, we're ready for a shower.

And our little frog friend, on our way out! He may or may not be on the move because Billy pushed him off the ledge while trying to pick him up... And thus ends our first family camping trip. The parts not captured by photos were really fun too - we had a campfire, Billy accidentally stole our camping-neighbors' wood, we waded in the creek, Bentley swam in the creek, I fell on my butt while holding Bentley in the creek, we took a 10 minute hike, Monika's allergies went crazy, and we ate. We ate a lot. We ate hot dogs, fajitas, chicken, potatoes, chips, hummus, cheese, smores, croissants, croissants with smores, cookies, and cake. YUM. Camping rocks - can't wait to go back.

bentley loves seattle

So I'm a litttle behind in the posting... I'm jumping back to Easter now...

And the alternate title of this post is "Not Sleepless in Seattle"

On Good Friday, B&B and I drove up to Seattle to spend the Easter weekend with Monika & her new bf Moghan! Also, on Saturday, Billy had a pipe band competition in Vancouver, BC, so he left me and the dog with Monika and drove up to Canada to do his thing. It works out well.

So we loaded up the car with WAY more bags than we should have for 3 days and 2 people and 1 dog, but oh well. (We also had drumming things for competition, which don't count...)
Bentley is like a little baby in the car... once we get on the road, he goes to sleep! And rather awkwardly, at that. Maybe his crate is too small? (shhh I don't want to buy another... hmmm). So here he is, passed out with his neck all crooked.

Meanwhile, during his cozy siesta, I was sewing up the holes in his soft toys. When he was littler, he used to enjoy snuggling and gnawing on stuffed hedgehogs, giaraffes, and dogs. As he got bigger, Bentley decided it was more fun to rip holes in their bodies with his teeth and tear off their tails, ears, legs, and arms. But he's had some of these toys since he was a baby puppy, they are really cute, and we don't have thousands of dollars to spend replacing each toy that looses a leg. So when we go on road trips, I sew up the holes and he gets the toys back until new holes po up.

In the middle of his nap, I woke him up by tucking a freshly-sewed Mr. Hedgehog into his crate. And after a few "I remember you!" licks, he cozied up with Mr. Hedgehog as his pillow.
Later in the drive, he reshifts and readjusts, deciding that this position is now the coziest. Looks awful to me, so I pulled him out of his crate and into my lap for some softer snuggles. And he slept quite peacefully for awhile, until we got to Seattle!

In Seattle, we had a great time with Monika and Moghan. We also met Cru, Moghan's puppy, who's now 5 years old. Cru is part black lab, part Australian Shepherd, and is the sweetest, most well behaved dog ever. He puts Benters to shame! Cru and Bentley loved running around in Monika's backyard, so by the end of the day, Bents was rather exhausted! Here he is, cozied up with Melman (the giaraffe) and Marty (the Zebra). (Haven't you seen Madagascar??!) What a sleepy puppy! Shh - don't tell Monika he's on the couch.

And then, after a lovely weekend in Seattle, we re-packed the car and drove on back home. Bentley resumed his awkward sleeping positions in his crate, as evidenced below:

And some minutes later, his feet pop through the crate door.

Looks like it might be time for a bigger Bentley home... who has a larger crate to donate??! :)